


A Matter of Caring

by InconvenientImmortal



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: (but nothing graphic), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild description of blood / injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 18:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6251659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InconvenientImmortal/pseuds/InconvenientImmortal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zero wasn’t too good with self-preservation.<br/>If the fact he’d essentially blown himself up a few months prior to stop Vile wasn’t enough of an indicator, the injuries he’d been racking up during his missions since then were. </p><p>When Zero doesn’t go to the medical ward to get his injury fixed, X gets worried and takes matters into his own hands. Set after the events of Megaman X2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter of Caring

Zero wasn’t too good with self-preservation.

If the fact he’d essentially blown himself up a few months prior to stop Vile wasn’t enough of an indicator, the injuries he’d been racking up during his missions since then were. A-Class or no, the back-to-back operations he’d taken on were starting to strain his systems. It wasn’t that Zero wanted to get himself killed (again), it was just that putting himself in the middle of a battle was the best way to get close enough to an enemy to deliver the finishing blow. Time was a factor when fighting Mavericks—a second could mean the difference between saving an innocent life or ending one. He could handle getting scratched up a bit, shot at a little, heck, a particularly adept Maverick actually managed to stab him during his last mission (which had hurt, but not as much as the Maverick hurt after Zero shot it point-blank in the face).

That being said, the dark fluid seeping from the deep gash in his shoulder was a problem. It was so deep Zero was surprised his arm hadn’t completely fallen off at this point. He’d wrapped his shoulder up with what was on-hand at the time (part of a cape torn from a fallen Maverick) but it wasn’t enough to completely stop the pseudo-blood from leaking through his haphazard sling. Still, he’d managed to play-off the injury on the journey back to Hunter base and while sitting through the mandatory return exam, which scanned a reploid’s rational thought capabilities to ensure there was no Maverick contamination. Zero respected it enough to not duck out, but once the minute-long test was over and he’d sent some of his injured subordinates to medical bay, he succeeded in slipping away under the excuse of having post-mission paperwork to file. Zero figured the poor nurse-reploid who briefly attempted to direct him back to medical bay was new; he’d had a far too-easy time talking his way out going. The slip-up would likely go on her record, but the knowledge didn’t weigh on Zero's conscious enough to make him want to go back.

Ever since his ‘resurrection’ feat, the scientists and medics in the ward used any excuse to keep him strapped down to a hospital bed and study him for hours under the guise of a check-up. Zero didn’t appreciate being someone’s lab-rat. All he needed to do was recharge a bit, let his system’s nanites work, and after a few days he’d be well-enough to go on the next mission. He didn’t need anyone poking around his interior-parts, especially not the reploids and humans in the medical ward.

The elevator up to the sleeping quarters in Zero’s division was empty, just as he’d expected. It was evening, and since most reploids (with the exception of on-duty officers and a few night owls) took after their human programmers and recharged their systems at night, Zero wasn’t too concerned about running into anyone. Even if he did, it wasn’t likely anyone would try and chat, much less badger him about his injury.

Since coming back from the dead wasn’t exactly a regular occurrence, upon his return, most of Zero’s fellow hunters treated him like some sort of zombie. They avoided him when they could, averting eye contact when he passed them in the halls, keeping conversations short, and in general acting as cautious around him as they would around a Maverick. Zero didn’t care much at first; he was just glad to be back in one piece. But having to endure it for days on end after nearly three weeks of tedious tests ensuring yes, he was fully functional (despite the fact he’d been well enough to help X defeat Sigma only a few hours after being reactivated), his patience was shorter than usual. It was just another reason why only a few days after getting the (reluctant) thumbs-up from medical, Zero immediately accepted the first mission he’d been assigned to. He’d been out of commission too long anyways (even if he _did_ have the excuse of being dead), and he was more than willing to make up for it. This injury was just a minor setback—he’d just recharge for a bit and as soon as his arm was fixed, he’d be back in action in no time.

The lift shuddered to a stop and a small ‘ _ping_ ’ sounded as Zero finally reached his floor. He let out a small sigh of relief, adjusting his binding. It’d been a month since he was last at Headquarters, maybe some peace and quiet would actually do him some good. His room wasn’t too far from the elevators—all he had to do was go up the hall and down to the left past—

The metal doors opened, and a blue reploid nearly walked right into Zero.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” the shorter reploid said, taking a step back. “I didn’t think anyone was—Zero?”

_Shoot._

“X? What are you doing here?” It was the first time he’d seen his friend since they’d taken down Sigma. Under other circumstances, Zero would’ve been pleased to see him, but right now, X was the last person he wanted to run into.

X looked about as tired as Zero felt—unnatural shadows tinged the synth-skin under his eyes, his shoulders slumped ever so slightly, reactions a fraction of a second slower than normal as he processed Zero’s question. But he beamed, and the shadows diminished somewhat. “I heard you were coming back from your mission today. I wanted to drop by and see how you were doing, but you weren’t in your quarters, so I thought I’d go down to see if you were still in medical. It’s been a while since we were both at base at the same time. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you since…” he paused, as though the words suddenly caught in his throat. Had the situation been different, Zero might have questioned X’s hesitation, as well as his friend’s overall exhausted state, but at the moment he was more concerned with getting away before X noticed his injury.

“Yeah, it’s been real busy. Look- let’s catch up later ok? I seriously need to recharge.”

“Oh.” His tone was surprised and almost…hurt.

A sharp stab of guilt went through Zero, but he valiantly tried to ignore it as he stepped through the elevator doors, careful to keep his injured shoulder on the side X wasn’t on. “Sorry X, I’m just kinda tired. We can talk later, now is just a bad time.”

X briefly reached out as Zero passed him, but hesitated again, instead letting his hand drop back to his side.

“No of course, I understand. I just wanted to make sure you were alright; you’ve been on so many missions lately I can’t help but worr-” X suddenly made a small gasp and Zero tensed, spinning around, expecting to see some sort of enemy. Instead, he saw X staring at the floor and the small puddles of pseudo-blood that had soaked through his sling, creating a morbid trail leading from the elevator to where he was now standing. X looked in shock between the blood on the ground to Zero’s stained binding, now in full-view. “You’re hurt!”

Zero quickly cover his shoulder with a hand, mentally cursing himself. “Nah, this is nothing. You should see the other guy.” He grinned, but X just looked even more worried.

“Why didn’t medical bay fix you?”

“My systems can handle something like this. I just need some rest and I’ll be good as new.” He made to turn around again, but X caught him by his un-injured arm.

“Wait—” X held him back. “I can’t just let you sit in your room and bleed out.”

Zero looked at him, half surprised, half amused. “I’m not going to _bleed-out_ , X, I’m not a human.”

"I don’t want you to be in pain then.” X bit his lip, looking as though he were in pain himself. “If…If you’re not willing to go to medical bay, then let me have a look at you.”

Zero raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Since when were you qualified in doing repairs?”

“I have…some experience,” X said haltingly, dropping his gaze for a moment.

“X, I’m fine, really,” Zero said, trying to shrug him off. “I just need to—”

“Please.” X’s voice wavered for moment, a flicker of something Zero couldn’t quite place flashing across his emerald eyes. “Let me help you.”

He stared down at X, who defiantly stared right back. Finally, Zero sighed in defeat. There was no use making his friend get worked up over him. “…So long as you don’t do anything that will make me actually _have_ to go to medical bay.”

X smiled in relief. Had Zero been paying more attention, he might have noticed the smile stopped short of X’s eyes.

 

* * *

 

Zero could’ve insisted they go to his room, but X’s was just down the hall and he didn’t want to make X have to go back and forth to gather whatever equipment he needed. Besides, if Zero was honest, he preferred X’s room to his own. Unlike most reploids (himself included) who only used their rooms for recharging at night or finishing up additional paperwork, X actually treated his room like a living space. His shelves were filled with a variety of miscellaneous human objects, but mostly old hardback books (which were remarkable for the simple fact that they were actual physical books, not digital) and dusty artifacts he could only assume X collected from archaeological digs with Dr. Cain.

X had the standard recharging station and desk with a computer like other reploids, but even they were tweaked to his’s tastes. For one, a small padded comforter lay inside his charging station along with a pillow and blanket, and several photos hung on his desk. X’s room also had a window, which wasn’t unusual for rooms on the west side of Headquarters, but on the window seal sat a neat row of potted plants, bright red buds curled upon themselves as though asleep for the night. What kind of plants they were, Zero had no clue, but X had had them for years and he knew his friend was quite fond of them.

Though X’s room was cluttered by reploid standards, somehow Zero always found it to be the most comfortable place in Headquarters (then again, it may have just been the company he found within it and not the room itself that made him feel so relaxed).

X lead him by the hand inside, turning to face him as the door slid shut behind them.

“May I take the wrapping off?” Zero nodded, and X carefully unwound the cloth around his shoulder, wincing in sympathy as he saw how deep the gash ran. “This looks terrible! Zero…I hate to ask, but would you mind taking off part of your armor? It’ll make it easier for me to work on repairs.”

Zero grimaced. “You sure you can’t just slap a band-aid on me and call it good?”

X didn’t bother dignifying his question with a response, merely crossing his arms and waiting.

Unlike X, who generally took off the more cumbersome parts of his armor whenever he was resting in his room or at least took off his helmet when doing paperwork, Zero was loathe to remove his protection when walking around Headquarters or even when recharging in his room. Besides being a hassle to take off, the armor made Zero feel a little safer. After all, an attack could happen anywhere at any time, coming from anyone, even people he once considered allies. Considering it’d only been a few months since he’d been blown up because of the actions of someone he once saw as a comrade in arms, he was still understandably jumpy.

But he trusted X. So off the armor went.

He shed the top layer covering his chest and shoulders after a minute of fiddling with the latches, setting them on the floor as X stepped forwards to help him remove the part over his damaged shoulder.

The dark material under his armor could hardly be considered skin, but it wasn’t exactly clothing either. It was the same material that covered his abdomen, neck and arms, so it offered some measure of protection (though significantly less than his armor), but it didn’t diminish his sense of touch like his armor did. Zero could still feel the hand X gently placed on his arm as he inspected the damaged shoulder.

“This looks a lot worse than I thought it was,” X looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Zero, are you sure you don’t want to go to the medical bay?”

“Very.”

X sighed. “What do you have against them?”

“I’ve got better things to do.” X frowned, his answer evidently not sufficient. “…They always try and keep me longer than they need to,” Zero half shrugged, then winced as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder.

“Probably so they can do all the fitness exams and regular checkups you skip out on,” X commented, frowning more as he saw the wince. He squeezed Zero’s lower arm gently, “Just what were you planning to do, wait until your arm fell off?”

“My system’s nanites would’ve gotten around to fixing it.” X looked skeptical. “Eventually,” Zero added with a grin.

X shook his head in defeat, saying in a quiet voice “Knowing you, even if your arm got completely torn off in battle you’d keep fighting.”

“I could totally kick Maverick butt one-armed. Fighting with two arms is definitely preferable though, I’d probably let med bay treat me if I lost an arm.” X raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.”

X shook his head again, but he couldn’t hide a small smile, letting go of Zero’s arm. “Just sit down would you? I’ll do what I can, but I still think you should let the professionals have a look at you,” X said as he motioned to the chair sitting at his desk.

As Zero sat, he noticed several photos taped up next to X’s computer he hadn’t had since the last time he'd been in the room. The first was of Dr. Cain, who looked decades younger than Zero had ever seen him, the old man grinning toothily at the camera and looking incredibly proud as he held up some sort of rusty relic covered with dirt. The second was a picture of himself and X from the back. They hadn’t been looking at the camera when the photo was taken, but they were looking at each other, so their profiles were still visible. X was half covering his mouth, looking like he was trying to hold in a laugh, whereas Zero had his head thrown back, clearly laughing loudly at something. Zero didn’t remember the occasion, or who took the photo, but it made him smile all the same.

“Here we go,” X said as he pulled out a small box filled with what Zero assumed was his equipment.

“Where’d you learn to do repairs anyways?” he asked, looking away from the photos and back to X. “Dr. Light?”

“He did program me with some protocols for self-repair in case my nanites couldn’t take care of something, but that’s a little different,” X said as he pulled a up stool and sat across from Zero, setting his box on the desk and popping the top off. “I mostly learned from Dr. Cain when he was building some of the first reploids. I picked up a thing or two as his assistant.” X selected a pair of thin, sharp metal tools from his equipment box that would’ve made Zero nervous if they were in anyone else’s hands. As it was, he still had to force himself not to flinch as X began using the needles to piece together some of the damaged wires and delicate circuitry in his shoulder. One of the tools felt hot, like a miniature welding torch, fusing together cracked parts, the other tool helping to redirect Zero’s nanites to the most damaged area.

Zero winced as X reattached some of his nerve endings and feeling came back into his arm. “Well seems like you’re doing something right. This hurt a hell of a lot less when my circuits were too damaged to register pain.”

“Mm.” X continued focusing on his shoulder.

“But my design isn’t based on yours, are you sure I should be letting you fiddle with my systems?” Zero smirked, expecting his friend to laugh. Instead, X faltered.

“I… I’ve worked on you too. When I helped put part of you back together, after you…” X stopped, his voice wavering.

_Oh._

“Right. Sorry. I forget.”

“It’s alright.”

An awkward silence stretched between them, only broken by the occasional sound of X’s tools clinking gently together as he adjusted them. Zero looked away, back at the messy desk and tried to think of a different subject. Paperwork sat in two piles next to X’s laptop, on which X’s latest report was still open, half-finished. Sticky-notes in an assortment of colors were stuck around the desk, a pale green one clinging to the corner of X’s computer. A date was written out and circled in X’s neat handwriting, and underneath it was written _‘Zero comes back from his mission’_.

He looked back at X, whose head was bent as he focused intently on fixing Zero’s shoulder. “So…what did you want to talk to me about?”

X paused, glancing up. “What?”

“You said you wanted to talk earlier.”

“I just…wanted to make sure you were doing alright.” He cast is gaze back down to his task, continuing his work. “We’ve both been so busy cleaning up the Maverick activity since Sigma was resurrected and destroyed, and you’ve been on nonstop missions for almost a month now, so we haven’t really hand a chance to talk. I’ve been…wondering how you were. I worry about you, you know.”

“You worry about a lot of things,” Zero noted bluntly.

“I have reason to worry about you more often than other things,” X said with a small, sad smile. Zero could’ve contended the comment, but given that X had caught him playing hooky and skipping going to medical, he felt like he wasn’t really in the position to make a convincing argument.

They sat like that for a few minutes longer until X finally drew back, sighing. “There. It’s not completely fixed, but I’ve repaired your inner circuitry as best as I could. Your nanites should take care of patching up the tear in your synth-skin, but until then-” X pulled out bandage tape and wrapped his shoulder up securely- "here's your bandage."

Zero moved his arm gingerly, testing the shoulder joint. “Not too shabby, X.” He grinned at him. “You’ve really gotten me out of a lot of trouble lately, thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

Several seconds passed before Zero noticed tears in X’s eyes. He stared in wide-eyed horror as they slowly rolled down X’s cheeks. “Whoa, X what’s wrong?” He didn’t understand—what had he said to upset X like this?

“Ah…” X blinked rapidly as he tried to stem the flow, looking just as surprised as Zero. “I’m sorry, I-I’m alright.”

“Like hell you are, I know don’t start leaking for no reason. What’s going on?”

X shook his head, not looking at him. “Really, it’s ok. I know you’re probably tired. Go get some rest, your shoulder should be fine now.”

“ _X_ ,” Zero said sharply. X cringed at his tone, but looked at him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Zero was about to prompt him again when quietly, as though the words physically hurt him, he whispered “You _died_.”

“Yeah?” Zero couldn’t help use the same tone as if he’d said _‘So what?’_

Evidently, it was the wrong thing to say, as X looked up at him, scowling despite the tears.

Zero frantically tried to backpedal. “Listen, it’s not a big deal-”

That only made more tears fall. X shook his head, covering his face. Zero was at a loss for what to do. Emotional outbursts weren’t really his thing, that was X’s area of expertise. He wasn’t sure what to say (or whether he _should_ say something). Should he hug X? Leave him be? Zero compromised by awkwardly patting X on the shoulder and waited for him to calm down.

It took X a few minutes before he was able to speak again, exhaling a slow sigh. “I’m sorry Zero, I didn’t mean to fall apart like this.”

“Mind telling me what’s going on now?” Zero asked cautiously.

He hesitated briefly, but nodded. “I just…can’t believe you’re back. You’re _here_ , and you’re _alive_. I thought I’d never-” he took a shaky breath, swallowing hard. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. You died to save me. I couldn’t forgive myself.”

Zero rapped the top of X’s helmet with his knuckles, startling X. “And you saved me. The favor’s already been returned, don’t keep beating yourself up over it. It wasn’t your fault. Vile _would_ have killed you, it was a bad set-up and there was nothing you could have done. But there was still something I could do, so I did. Simple as that.” His tone softened somewhat, and he placed a reassuring hand on X’s shoulder. “Besides, if anyone’s to blame, its Vile.” Zero grinned, “Though from what I hear, you gave him a solid thrashing. Nice work.”

“It was all thanks to you,” X said, smiling weakly. “I know I shouldn’t be crying; after all, you’re back, but…” he shook his head slowly, resting a hand on his chest. “It still hurts. I thought I’d lost you. Every time I remember that feeling, I can’t help it. And seeing you in pain just reminds me of when you were hurt and there was nothing I could do to help you.”

“Your heart’s too soft, X,” Zero chided, raising a hand to X’s face, brushing the remaining tears from the corner of X’s eye with a thumb. “But I’m here now. So don’t waste any more tears on me, alright?”

X smiled, leaning his cheek against Zero’s hand. “You’re my best friend, Zero. My tears are never wasted on you.”

Zero returned his smile, raising his other hand so he was cupping X’s face between both hands, tilting his head up. “Yeah, well I don’t like seeing _my_ best friend cry, especially when I’m the cause of it. Anyways, if word got out I’d probably have people coming after me with pitchforks for making the ‘hero who saved the world’ all misty-eyed.”

That got X to laugh. It was a small laugh, but it succeeded in making the tears finally stop falling. Zero leaned forward until their forehead gems gently bumped together, murmuring “You don’t have to worry about me anymore X, I’m not planning on dying again anytime soon, I promise.”

X closed his eyes, placing a hand over Zero’s and squeezing it for a moment. “…Will you promise to go to the medical bay when you’re injured?”

Zero pulled back a few inches to look at X. “Why should I when I have a top of the line medic right here?” X frowned at him, and Zero sighed, letting go of X’s face and resting his hands on his friend’s shoulders once more. “If it’d stop you from worrying so much, I suppose I can make that sacrifice for you.”

“I hate to make you sacrifice anything more, but I think this one might actually benefit you in the long-run,” X grinned.

“Hmph.”

X laughed, and Zero cracked a reluctant smile. “So you’re sure your shoulder feels ok?”

“Definitely. It feels way better than it did an hour ago at least.”

“Then…If it’s alright, would you mind if I …” X hesitated. “Would you mind if I gave you a hu-” he barely got the words out before Zero caught him up in a strong hug. After recovering from the initial surprise from the motion, X returned the hug, squeezing Zero tightly, as though making sure he was really there. Zero could feel X’s shoulders trembling, but chose not to comment, only holding his friend closer.

X rested his face against Zero’s chest, closing his eyes. “It’s…it’s good to have you back, Zero.”

Zero tucked X’s head under his chin, smiling gently.

“Good to be back.”

**Author's Note:**

> Coming back from the dead and bringing someone back from the dead would definitely have some lasting effects on Zero and X, but knowing them, they'd be able to overcome anything so long as they have each other's support.
> 
> Special thanks to greyfishes on tumblr for all her help and support (and for beta-ing the chapter), you're the best! Thank you for always getting me super excited to write about these two!


End file.
